


Can I Say It's Less Than Perfect?

by Emme2589



Series: Super Mario Odyssey Retold [2]
Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Romantic Fluff, basically just shameless fluff, because I'm weak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25316116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Luigi finally pops the question.
Relationships: Luigi/Princess Peach, Peach-hime | Peach Toadstool/Luigi (Nintendo)
Series: Super Mario Odyssey Retold [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1804945
Kudos: 15





	Can I Say It's Less Than Perfect?

Luigi adjusted his green bowtie as he scrutinized his reflection in the mirror. He was incredibly nervous, but the excitement far exceeded that. The giddiness bubbled up through him like a shaken can of soda, and he saw the way his dopy smile warmed his face.

He took a deep breath, _Come on, Luigi. You can do this. You know she'll love it. It'll be perfect._

He left the house in good spirits as Mario wished him good luck, and he made his way to the castle, running over the events he had planned over and over again until his head was spinning and he decided to just take it as it came to him.

He found her in the garden, all dolled up in her knee-length pink dress and white wedge heels. She glanced at her watch as Luigi headed up the path.

He cleared his throat, "Princess."

Peach turned towards him, and her face lit up, "Hi, Luigi!"

"Hey." Luigi tipped his hat before reaching for her hand, "Are you ready?"

"You bet!" Peach put on her short silk gloves before opening her parasol, and she left the castle with him.

Again, the nervousness and bubbly excitement bounced around in his chest until he felt sick, overwhelmed with a million different emotions, but somehow...it was a good kind of sick. He was elated, but also anxiously pessimistic. Still, the excitement was the only thing he could really focus on, and it took all his mental restraint to hide it from his beloved.

He took her hand to lead her up the slope of the mountain, where he'd set up a table with two chairs in the shade of a gazebo, surrounded by Christmas lights. The table was set for two, with a candle holder in the middle, which Luigi lit with a wave of his hand, and the resulting blue flame cast a cool glow over the covered plates.

Peach put her parasol away as Luigi pulled out the chair for her, gesturing to it with his hand.

"Ooh." Peach tucked her skirt beneath her as she sat down, "Did you set all this up for us?"

Luigi took his own chair, "Are you charmed yet?"

"Extremely!" Peach giggled into her hands, "This is all so romantic! Consider me wooed!"

"Whew." Luigi reached across the table to take her hand, "I know we've been dating for like five years, but I was worried if you actually liked me."

"Shut up!" Peach burst into laughter, making Luigi blush bright red.

"Well, would you like to see what I prepared for us tonight?"

"Oh! I can hardly wait!" Peach took the handle of the cover over her plate, "Should I...?"

"Yes, go ahead." Luigi lifted his cover, and she was quick to follow, "I went a little simple this time."

"Ah, yes." Peach set the cover aside, "Spaghetti. The only dish you can reliably make."

"Hey!" Luigi feind offense, "Give me a _little_ more credit than that! I can make a _few_ things right every time!"

"I know you can." Peach lifted her fork, setting a napkin in her lap, "I'm only teasing."

The sun set, and the two of them ate their dinner over the sounds of crickets and the sight of the flaming horizon. Luigi watched the park below in eager anticipation, and it took Peach a few minutes to realize why.

"Wait a minute..." Peach eyed his expression as it turned sly, "Luigi, did you know that today was-!"

An echoing _boom!_ reverberated off the sky as it lit up in a bright display of fireworks.

"The Firework Festival?" Luigi laughed, "Love, why do you think I insisted we have our date today?"

Peach got up from the table, folding the napkin on it as she walked to the edge of the gazebo, "It's beautiful. Luigi, this is perfect."

He joined her, his hand reaching up to hold her around her waist and pulling her close to himself as her arm wrapped around his shoulders. The nervousness was back, and this time it managed to threaten the excitement that roiled around inside him. He risked a glance at Peach, seeing that her eyes were fixed on the distant fireworks. The light from them reflected off her eyes. It was so beautiful it made Luigi's breath catch in his throat.

Seeing her so happy, holding her like this...it reminded him why he was here in the first place. He forced a breath in through his nose, and as he steeled himself, he found that the nervousness had completely vanished.

He wasn't afraid.

"Peach."

She turned to him, "Yes?"

The fireworks had hit a lull. Now was his chance.

"We've been talking about things." he started, "About the rest of our lives. A lot of it scares me. You know I'm scared of a whole lot of things, but it's easy to be brave with you around. I guess...there's a lot I'm still not prepared for, but I know I can handle it as long as I've got you. What I'm trying to say is..."

He reached into his pocket, and Peach covered her mouth as he got down on one knee and opened the little black box he'd been carrying with him the whole time. The one he made absolute sure he had with him before leaving the house that day.

The ring inside caught the light of the candle. It was an opal in a sterling silver band.

"...will you marry me?"

The fireworks started up again right at that moment. There, the two of them stayed as the seconds passed, and Luigi began to worry when Peach stayed frozen in shock, her mouth covered and her eyes wide.

"Um..." Luigi laughed nervously, still crouched with the ring box open towards her, "C-can I get an answer, Love? Say something."

Peach seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in, "Luigi... _Luigi, I..."_

And then she began to cry.

"Ah!" Luigi jumped up, placing a hand over her cheek.

"No no, Luigi!" she sobbed into her hands, "I'm sorry, it's just that everything is perfect! You made this evening absolutely perfect!"

It quelled his fears a bit, but her tears were still concerning him, "So...so you're okay? You're not upset?"

"Not even close!" Peach sniffled as she wiped her tears away, "I'm just overwhelmed by everything. Luigi, Love, after everything we've been through together, I'd be _crazy_ to say no!"

Luigi's mind took a second to catch up, "Wait, so that's a yes!?"

"Yes, Luigi!" her smile returned, "Yes, I _will_ marry you!"

"Wahoo!" Luigi jumped into the air, "Yes! _Yes!_ Peach, you've made me the happiest person in the whole world!"

He took the ring from the box, and Peach held out her left hand so he could slide it on. She gazed from the ring to him, then she grabbed his face and kissed his lips. He let his eyes close, his hands around her waist as the fireworks continued in the distance.

When they parted, Luigi found tears on his own face. His chest heaved, and he sucked in a breath of much-needed oxygen.

"Aw." Peach wiped his tears away.

_"S-sorry, Love."_ he laughed through his tears, _"I can't believe how happy I am right now. I'm so happy I could explode!"_

Peach kissed his nose, "You're such a sweetheart, Luigi. But, um, if I'm being honest with you..."

She reached into the pocket of her dress, procuring another little black box.

"I was going to ask you."

"What?" he was dumbfounded as he opened the box she held, a ring of his size nestled within, "When?"

"Well..." her face turned red as she looked away from him, "I don't really know. I've had this for almost a week now because I couldn't figure out how to ask you."

"Oh..."

He took the box in his hands, gazing at the ring inside. The gemstone was an emerald, and it was even in his favored color and cut.

He was at a loss for words.

"I can't believe how much I've been overthinking it." Peach rubbed her arms, "You mean so much to me. I wanted it to be perfect, but I didn't want to put you on the spot or overwhelm you, so I just kept putting it off and...well..."

Luigi stood on his tiptoes to kiss her cheek, "Peach, you know you could have asked me in any way and I would have still said yes. How am I not the one overthinking it this time? I usually overthink everything."

"Luigi, you deserve nothing but the best."

"But your standards are too high." he argued, "Listen, I love the ring you got me, but would you consider it flawless? You could have easily gone for a diamond or a sapphire, but you got an emerald because you know I love those. You see? I managed to ask you first because I was willing to settle for something slightly less than perfect. I had _so_ many ideas for how to ask, from a trip to the beach, the amusement park, a hot air balloon ride, but I realized that some of my ideas were a little too...spectacular. Some of them may have been too flashy, which neither of us would appreciate, so I settled on something cozy instead."

A firework went off so loud that it made Luigi jump, and Peach laughed a little.

"Well, for the most part." Luigi slid the emerald ring onto his finger, "Sometimes, what people consider perfect is just not enough. You need to compromise if you want something to actually get done. I'm glad I got to ask you, though. It...gave me a chance to be brave."

Peach hugged him close to her body, "You're the bravest person I've ever known, Luigi. I love you."

He resisted the urge to cry like a baby, "I love you too."

And there they stayed, under the light of the moon as the fireworks continued late into the night. Luigi could not believe that everything had gone so smoothly, and both of them could now proudly show off their rings and brag about how they were engaged.

He could honestly say it was everything he hoped for and more. He huddled closer to his beloved, feeling safe and warm in her arms.

Soon, he would be a married man.

***


End file.
